Obeying the Russian Mafia Boss: A Mob Romance (3 page)

“Leave it, Damil,” Erik growled. “And come here.”

The door opened, and Danil slunk into the room. He was a small man, still relatively young and despite years of service, still timid.

“Yes, boss?” Danil asked.

“I want you to run a background check on Ella Davis. She appears to be in her mid-twenties, and her mother is in the long-term care unit at San Diego Grace hospital. Ella may just be a nickname. Try Eleanor or Isabella.”

Danil nodded and pulled his computer out from his bag. “How deep do you need me to go? Is she a threat?”

“No threat, but get me everything you can. I want the results within the hour.” Erik eyed the information specialist, but he was already in the zone. Once he started looking into something, he ignored everything else.

Confident that Danil was handling the job, Erik left him and strode into his office. He’d only been in California for a year, but already he was unimpressed. The population was perfect for what he needed. Tons of people with lots of money and nothing better to spend it on than drugs and women.

It made setting up a sector of the Russian mob on the West Coast all too easy.

In a few hours, he would make his first appearance at the Black Orchid. He’d stayed in the shadows until now, but if his girls did their jobs, he’d be meeting with three of the most powerful men in the city tonight.

They just had no idea.

He looked through the papers on his desk, but his mind was on the girl. Red hair. Creamy skin. Gorgeous blue eyes. There was something so innocent and pure about her, and he desperately wanted to dig up something dirty about her.

Something he could use.

When Danil finally walked in, Erik straightened up eagerly. “Tell me what you have.” Danil put the laptop down and turned it to face Erik. He had a huge smile on his face. The man relished his presentation.

“Meet Ella Caitlyn Davis. She’s twenty-five years old with a sterling record. Davis excelled at everything she did. She was awarded a full scholarship to Atherton University, an extremely selective, and expensive, school. Two years in, she dropped out when her father was diagnosed with cancer. He died within the year but not before leaving the Davis family with a mountain of debt. She took a job at Bellevue Industries, but she was fired a couple weeks ago, when her mother became ill, because she was taking too much time off in the middle of the day. Kind of cruel if you ask me.”

“Danil,” Erik said warningly.

“Sorry, boss. She works as a cashier at Supermart. They must let her work overtime up to sixty hours a week because her paychecks are too high for normal working hours. When she’s not at work, she’s at the hospital. Her mother has liver failure, and she’s on the transplant list, but she’s low. Unless something happens to get her bumped up, chances are good that she’ll die before the surgery.”

Erik settled back and watched the pictures that Danil had set up for him. As a kid, Ella seemed full of life. She had a grin on her face in every picture, and she was surrounded by friends and family. There were awards and trophies, and it was obvious that she’d been very loved. Her family probably encouraged her in everything that she did. Erik, on the other hand, was cultivated to do one thing and one thing only. It didn’t require love or support.

“Tell me you have more than this, Danil. I gave you an hour,” Erik scowled.

Danil nodded his head and cleared his throat. “I do, boss. She didn’t date in high school, but in college she dated this man.” Another picture appeared on the computer, and Erik frowned. “His name is Josh Turner. They met during something called a freshman mixer, and they were hot and heavy for two years.”

Erik eyed Josh Turner and scowled. The man was good looking, but in a preppy kind of way. He was the complete opposite of Erik. If this was the type of man that Ella went for, seduction was out of the question.

“Where is he now?”

“He graduated top of his class and now works as an FBI analyst.”

“Of course he does. What did she want to major in?”

“I believe she was to major in veterinary sciences.”

Erik rolled his eyes. “Of course she did. She seems the type to want to cuddle with animals. How was their break-up?” he growled.

“Quiet. It looks like once she dropped out of school, he didn’t have time for her anymore. I don’t have the specifics.”

“Fetishes? Addictions?”

Danil shook his head. “None, boss. Davis was an exemplary student in school, and she shows no social life whatsoever after she dropped out. Her job at Bellevue settled only a fraction of her father’s debt, and she applied herself to the company. She probably would have been promoted quickly had she stuck with it. Obviously her new job doesn’t pay nearly as much. All the woman does is work and visit the hospital. No social life to speak of. I can’t find any current friends or lovers.”

Tapping his fingers on the desk, Erik stared at the pictures. None of this was helping. He angrily shut the laptop and pushed it aside. “Thank you, Danil.”

“Boss,” he said nervously. “If you are looking for a way to control her, I might have an answer.”

“Explain.”

“She’s barely staying afloat with the hospital bills. If a liver is found for her mother and they go ahead with the surgery, they will be in debt tens of thousands of dollars, and that’s on top of the debt from her father’s bills. She would be very motivated by money.”

Erik cocked his head and studied the man. “Is that something that you can do?”

“UNOS isn’t hard to hack. I can get her moved to the top of the list. From there it’s just a matter of finding her a match. That could take weeks or months.”

Nodding his head, Erik smiled. “Do it. Tonight. I want to see the look on her face tomorrow when they tell her the news.”

“And be there when she realizes how much she’ll need to pay?” Danil said with nervous laughter.

“Exactly.”

“If I may ask, boss, what is your interest in this woman?”

Erik stood. “I’ve been thinking of adding to the staff. A maid service would be nice.”

“You already have a maid.”

“Yes, I do. But none like her.” His staff was well-trained, and there was no need to add to it, but he didn’t just want Ella to be in his debt. He wanted her around all the time. He wanted to drink her in and reach out to touch her. He wanted to whittle her down until she could offer no resistance when he finally made his move.

Chapter Three

Ella sagged against the wall and tried not to fall asleep as she waited for an elevator. She’d only gotten three hours of sleep, and she wouldn’t be able to enjoy a bed for another fifteen hours. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she widened her eyes and fished it out.

“Hello,” she murmured sleepily.

“Ella? It’s Trevor.” He was her manager at Supermart. “Did I wake you up?”

When she’d first applied for a position at Supermart, she’d been desperate. After being fired from her last job, she knew she needed to work immediately. Even if she fought the company for unfair termination, it would take months and money she didn’t have. Looking for another corporate job would also take time. She didn’t have time. Even with the money that Bellevue had paid her, she had nothing in her savings account.

When she’d stood in front of Trevor with her resume, the first question he’d asked was why someone with her experience was applying for an hourly cashier position. She’d burst into tears and explained exactly what she needed. A flexible schedule and overtime.

He’d agreed, going against corporate policy.

“No, I’m at the hospital,” she said warily. “What do you need?”

“Sweetheart, I have some bad news. Corporate has come down on me for the extra hours I’ve been giving you and are making me cut you off. No overtime, and with all the benefits that they have to offer full-time employees now, they’re only hiring part-time. All hourly employees have a twenty-nine-hour weekly limit. I’m so sorry. I’ll still give you as many hours as possible, and you’re first on the overtime list, but that’s the best I can do.”

Her heart dropped. Twenty-nine hours a week working on ten dollars an hour? That wouldn’t even begin to pay the bills. “Thank you, Trevor. I appreciate the heads up,” she whispered hoarsely. Before he could apologize again, she hung up and slipped the phone back in her pocket. Panic was about to set in, but she didn’t want her mother to see the stress on her face. She tried to push the problem to the back of her mind.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Ella jumped up and down a few times to energize herself before hopping into it. Rolling her shoulders, she focused on evening her breath before the elevator stopped.

Walking into the waiting room, she saw that it wasn’t empty.

The sexy Russian lounged in one of the chairs and flipped through a magazine. His eyes met hers and a slow smile spread across his face. Yesterday it would have made her heart speed up, but today she barely registered the expression.

“Ella. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Erik.” She tried desperately not to yawn. “It’s nice to see you too.” It was strange that she’d run into him three days in a row, but she was a creature of habit. He probably was as well.

“Despite the circumstances, I was hoping that I would see you today.” He stood.

“Really? Me?” It wasn’t until he started to chuckle that she realized that she’d said it out loud. Blushing furiously, she started to rub her hands together. “That was only supposed to be in my head.”

“I gathered.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, but the move did nothing to make him look less imposing. Not only did he exude a dark appeal, but there was something dangerous about the man.

“Look, Erik, I am happy to see you, but I don’t have a lot of time. I’m really want to see my mother.”

“Take your time. I’ll see you when you get back.”

He was going to wait for her? She tried to process the information, but there was too much on her mind. She could only nod her head before she scampered to the window. The nurse wasn’t there, so she anxiously rang the bell. She could feel his eyes on her and tried not to look back. She just wasn’t equipped to handle whatever this man wanted to offer her.

But that didn’t mean that she didn’t desperately want a taste.

The door opened, and a nurse walked into the room. When she caught sight of Ella, her eyes brightened. “Ms. Davis! Good morning. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“You’ve been waiting for me?” Ella frowned. All thoughts of the sexy Russian fled. “Why? Did something happen last night? What’s wrong?”

The nurse held up her finger. “Hold on. I’m coming to you.” She rounded the corner out of the nurse station and walked through the double doors. “Nothing is wrong, my dear. In fact, something amazing has happened. Your mother has moved up the transplant list.”

Ella sagged. There were at least thirty people ahead of her mother. Moving one or two names up wouldn’t make a huge difference. “That’s great,” she said weakly.

“Oh, honey. I don’t think you understand. Your mother didn’t just move up a few people. She’s next on the list. As soon as a match comes back, she’s going into surgery,” the nurse said with a huge smile.

Stunned, Ella put a hand over her heart, and she stumbled as she reached out to grab something to hold on to. Something warm moved up behind her, and she felt hands settle on her hips. “Easy. Take your time. Breathe,” Erik murmured into her ear.

Breathe. “She’s next. I never actually thought that would happen,” she whispered. Feelings of euphoria flooded her. “I don’t believe it. How?”

“It
is
strange,” the nurse admitted. “But I am not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Your mother needs this surgery, Ms. Davis. I don’t know if you’re religious, but this is miraculous.”

Miraculous. Ella nodded and sagged against the warmth of Erik’s body. For some reason, the stranger anchored her. “What happens now?”

“We still wait. As I’ve explained before, we can do a living liver transplant, if you have a friend or family member who qualifies. Donors are screened first on blood type. We’re looking for someone with type A or O.”

Ella nodded. She was type B which was why she couldn’t donate. The nurse continued in a low voice. “Next they’ll look at tissue typing. The best chance your mother has for accepting a liver is to find one that matches six codes in both livers. After the tissue typing, the donor will test for cross-matching and do an antibody screen. If both tests are negative, there’s an excellent chance that your mother will accept the liver.”

Some of that made sense to her. When she’d discovered that she couldn’t be a donor, she looked into as much research as possible. A liver could be transplanted from a living donor, but only if a donor stepped forward.

With the word surgery bouncing around in her head, reality hit. “Oh God.” How was she going to pay for it?

“Ella?” The nurse frowned.

Panicked, she looked up and tore her grasp from Erik. Wild-eyed, she grabbed the nurse. “You have to do the surgery, right? You don’t expect payment up front?”

“We will do the surgery, my dear. Worry about your mother, and then you can worry about the money.” The nurse smile and squeezed her hand. “I’m going to go check on her. I’ll let you know when you can go back and see her.”

She left Ella in the waiting room, and Ella suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t even remember that Erik was behind her until she turned around and walked right into him.

“I’ve got you.” His low voice comforted her, and she steadied herself. Gently taking her by the elbow, he led her to the chairs. “Sit down.”

Following his command, Ella dropped into the chair and started to twist her fingers around each other. “I know you think I’m crazy. I am happy about my mother’s surgery, but I make ten dollars an hour. I’ll never be able to pay for it.”

“I absolutely understand your concerns. Your health care system is horrible, and I’m sure many Americans bow under the weight of medical debt. But your mother’s life should be your primary concern. You heard the nurse. You’re over the first and biggest hurdle. They’re going to do the surgery anyway. You don’t have to worry about money until after your mother is home and healthy again.”